2001 Yamaha bear tracker 250

[Feehan]

I bought a bear tracker off a friend who said it last ran a year and a half ago. He was going to use it, went to use it and it wouldn't start. He took it to the dealership, and they told him it needed $1200 worth of work one of the things being it needed a new stator.

I bought an aftermarket stator and in put it in, rebuilt the carb and changed the oil filter, installed a new petcock and gave it a new battery (voltage is 12.8) and oil.

I turn the ignition on and I see a green N light on. I turn the ignition switch to run and push start and I hear the click of the solenoid and the starter cranks but the 4-wheeler never turns over.

I have pulled the spark plug and have ground it to the motor housing. I try push run, but I do not see any spark from the spark plug, not even once.

What should I look to next? I can't for the life of me find a CDI box on my model. If I do it must look and be at a different location of where I am looking, nor can I find a CDI at any parts store which leads me to believe my model doesn't have one. 

Please excuse the ignorance as I am new to this, but I do have a rectifier and ECU that I do so.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I just don't know what readings I should be getting from the pickup coil, stator, ignition coil, etc. 

Thanks in advance for any assistance you may be able to give!

 

[Mech]

Ok well you really need to get the service manual for it, and then check that the power from the two windings that run the cdi are getting from the stator connections to the cdi unit. I think your "ECU" is going to be the cdi. It will have an orange wire going to the ignition coil if I'm right. You could disconnect the kill switch wire from the cdi, at the cdi.

Get the manual though.. It talks you right through the diagnostic process for no spark.

[Feehan]

I have to post here ten times before it will let me download the manual on here.

Edited January 1, 2025 by Feehan

[Mech]

Yeah... So get posting..

You should be able to trace and check the continuity of the wires from the stator to the cdi by their colours, and confirming it's a good wire with a multimeter..

You could try a new spark-plug, and/or try removing the cap of it's lead and checking for spark.

You could disconnect the kill switch, either at the switch or at the cdi(which would be better). These are all things the book is going to say to try.

[Gwbarm]

 

On 12/31/2024 at 12:23 PM, Feehan said:

I turn the ignition on and I see a green N light on. I turn the ignition switch to run and push start and I hear the click of the solenoid and the starter cranks but the 4-wheeler never turns over

Do you mean the engine never rotates when you press the start button, but the starter turns, or it just wont start.

[Feehan]

The starter turns, it won't start because I don't have spark.

I have replaced the spark plug.

On 1/1/2025 at 5:21 PM, Mech said:

Yeah... So get posting..

You should be able to trace and check the continuity of the wires from the stator to the cdi by their colours, and confirming it's a good wire with a multimeter..

You could try a new spark-plug, and/or try removing the cap of it's lead and checking for spark.

You could disconnect the kill switch, either at the switch or at the cdi(which would be better). These are all things the book is going to say to try.

Yeah I just need the book to see where or what they are calling my stator since I don't seem to have one.

[Mech]

You said you fitted a new stator..  Trace those wires to the cdi unit and then use a gauge to check they have continuity, and if they do, then check that they both have some power coming out of the stator when the motor is being cranked over.. One pair of wires should have an AC voltage, and the other pair should have a single pulse wave once per rotation of the crank. You might have trouble detecting the pulse with a digital meter, an old fashioned analogue gauge will show it clearly.

[Feehan]

That's the problem, my wires don't trace to a CDI, they only lead back to my ECU.

[Mech]

Who says it's an ECU ? Does it have a part number on it ? Unless your bike is fuel injected (it isn't), then it doesn't have an ECU.

Is the wire that goes to your ignition coil orange, and does that orange wire go to the "ECU" ?

If it does, then you've found your cdi.

[Feehan]

Ok, I will check that out.

 

[Gwbarm]

It should have a Mikuni carb on it unless its been changed.

[Feehan]

The carb is not the issue. It is the original carb, and it has already been rebuilt.

[Gwbarm]

I only mentioned the carb in response to post #9, only have ECU if its fuel injected, you have a CDI(Capacitor Discharge Ignition). 

[Feehan]

Yeah unfortunately I can' the manual yet to find out what or where the CDI would be, that's why I came on here to find out.

I haven't worked on the ATV for a while now, its been pretty bitter cold here in PA lately. I unfortunately don't have a heated garage, I have a garage, just not heated.

[Mech]

Good weather to read the manual then...

[AnthonyT]

Check your spark plug wire. It may not be getting good contact to your spark plug boot. Snip just a little off the end to expose fresh wire.

You can also test the spark plug boot. Make sure it is working properly. Always start with easy and cheap then work to most expensive. The manual will help you a lot.

[Feehan]

Quote

 

On 1/18/2025 at 1:16 PM, AnthonyT said:

Check your spark plug wire. It may not be getting good contact to your spark plug boot. Snip just a little off the end to expose fresh wire.

You can also test the spark plug boot. Make sure it is working properly. Always start with easy and cheap then work to most expensive. The manual will help you a lot.

Yeah I just need to post three more times to get the manual. How would check the spark plug boot since I can't find anything else about it anywhere.

Edited February 2, 2025 by Feehan

[Feehan]

Sorry, I haven't had a lot of time to work on the four-wheeler. Also, it has been way too cold outside, I don't have a heated garage.

[Feehan]

On 1/6/2025 at 1:40 PM, Mech said:

Who says it's an ECU ? Does it have a part number on it ? Unless your bike is fuel injected (it isn't), then it doesn't have an ECU.

Is the wire that goes to your ignition coil orange, and does that orange wire go to the "ECU" ?

If it does, then you've found your cdi.

Yeah, I really need the manual to check all the numbers out and what I should be getting off different sections.

[Gwbarm]

yfm250xlc.pdf

This may help.

[Feehan]

1 hour ago, Gwbarm said:

yfm250xlc.pdfUnavailable

This may help.

I wish it did, I am still not finding anything like a CDI box on mine, I am still kind of lost

 

[Gwbarm]

It should be a small black box about the size of a deck of cards with 2 plastic mounting tabs with an 8 pin connector. I would suspect it would be under the rear fender close to the battery box. If its not there the connector at least should be unless you see evidence of wire hacking and rerouting.

yfm250xlc.pdf